Caribbean Wives of South Florida: A Bravo Ripoff With Island Flavor

Miami's racial diversity isn't celebrated nearly enough. The Magic City's widely known as a town of Cubans, but what about the large groups of other ethnicities that call South Florida home? Name just about any place on the map, and you'll find a robust minority group, from Canadians and Russians to Brazilians, Argentinians, and people from all across the islands of the Caribbean.

It's time Miami's other nationalities got a little recognition. And according to TV producer Maxine Tulloch, there's just one way to get started: by giving Caribbean women their own Real Housewives-esque reality franchise.

(Hey, nobody said recognition was a good thing.)

New York Daily News reports that Caribbean Wives of South Florida could make its way to your TV screen soon, following a red carpet screening in New York City this Friday. The show is produced by South Florida production company Tulloch Media Communications, helmed by Tulloch herself.

The cast is made up of women from islands including Jamaica, Haiti, and Grenada. "I'm Caribbean spicey, beautiful and fiesty," says cast member Kendra, by way of introduction. "You can take me out the isles of spice, but you can't take the spice out of me," echoes Dale, another Caribbean wife.

The show has yet to be picked up by a network, perhaps because American culture has finally reached a critical mass of television shows about plastic, poorly behaved women. But Tulloch maintains that the Caribbean Wives are different:

Hollywood wants the high drama, the fights, the ridiculous conflicts, shock behavior -- we bring none of that to the production," Tulloch tells the Daily News. "Yes, there are conflicts, but they are played out differently, the Caribbean way, with class and dignity; our culture dictates how we behave and it is shown in our production -- we are different, America has never seen the Caribbean in its true form. In this production, we expressed the culture as best as possible."

Really? These lines from the trailer above tell a different story:

"Wherever I go, there's lots of drama."

"I can't help that I was born this way and look like trouble."

"Did you or did you not inform this bitch?"

"None of these ladies are a match for me."

There are also arguments over funerals, champagne chugged straight from the bottle, and yelling matches outside of bars at 3 a.m.

If you like this story, consider signing up for our email newsletters.

SHOW ME HOW

Newsletters

SUCCESS!

You have successfully signed up for your selected newsletter(s) - please keep an eye on your mailbox, we're movin' in!

Tulloch may have set out to prove Caribbean women have more class than other women, but judging from the show's trailer, she's actually proved the opposite -- that reality TV is the great equalizer. No matter their race, ethnicity, or nationality, all "housewives" have the same amount of class while the cameras are rolling: none at all.

Ciara LaVelle is New Times' arts and culture editor. She earned her BS in journalism at Boston University and moved to Florida in 2004. She joined New Times' staff in 2011 and left the paper in 2014, but two years and two babies later, returned.